INTRODUCTION. 



Seminal leaves, those which rise immediately from a seed, or 



rather from the seed-lobes. 

 Semi-orbiculated, shaped like half a globe. 

 Semi-sagittated, shaped like half the head of an arrow. 

 Semi-teres. See Semi-cylindrical. 

 Sempervirent, evergreen. 

 Senis, (foliis) growing in sixes. 

 Separate. See Mwruecia. 

 Sericeous, silky. 

 Serpentine, (repandus) the edge of some leaves is formed like 



a serpentine line, without any angles or corners. 

 Serrated, (serratus) like the teeth of a common saw. 

 Serrulated, (serrulatum) very minutely serrated. 

 Sessile, sitting. 

 Setaceous, bristle-shaped. 

 Seta, bristles. 



Setose, bristly, or set with bristles. 

 Sexangular, six-sided, or cornered. 

 Sex-fid, six-clefted. 

 Sex-locular, six-celled. 

 Shaft. See Style. 

 Sheath. See Spatha. 

 Sheathed, fruit-stalk. See Spadix. 



Sheath-scale, a membrane found at the top of the sheaths, 

 which surround the stem of the grasses, just where the 

 sheath ends, and the proper leaf begins. 

 Sheathing (vaginans) leaves ; when the base of a leaf infolds 



the stem, as in most of the grasses. 

 Shedding. See Caducous. 

 Shell. See Legumen. 

 jShoot, (surculus) the branch of a moss, 

 Short, (abbreviatus :) a cup is said to be short, when it is 



shorter than the tube of the blossom. 

 Shrivelling, (marcescens) fading and withered, but not fall- 

 ing off. 

 Shrubby, (fruticosus) somewhat woody and perennial, as 



the stems of the rose. 

 Silicula, a broad and short pod or pouch. 

 Silique, see Pod ; in which the seeds are alternately fixed to 

 either suture or joining of the valves ; in this it differs 

 from the legumen, which has its seeds attached to one 

 suture only. 

 Silky, (sericeus.) 

 Simple, (simplex) undivided. 

 Simple cup, one that consists of a single series of segments, 



as goats' beard. 



Simple leaf, when there is only one upon a leaf-stalk. 

 Simple stalk, undivided, as in the Tulip. 

 Simple stem, one that is undivided, or only sends out small 



branches. 



Simplicissimus, very simple, absolutely undivided. 

 Single, (unicus) one flower only upon a stalk, as the 



Tulip. 



Sinuate-anffulose, indented and angular. 

 Sinuate-dentated, indented and toothed. 

 Sinuatcd, indented, cut along the margin. 

 Sitting leaves, (sessilis) having no leaf-stalks. 

 Skinny, or skin-like, (scariosus) tough, thin, and semi-trans- 

 parent, like gold-beater's skin. 

 Slanting, (obliquus) straight, but in a direction between 



horizontal and perpendicular. 

 Smooth, (glaber) the surface smooth to the touch, without 



any hairiness or other inequality. 

 Snipt, cut at the edges without any regularity. 

 Solid root, fleshy and uniform, like a turnip. 

 Solid stem, without a cavity, opposed to hollow 



Solitary, (solitarius) only one in a place, having but one 

 flower on a fruit-stalk ; or only one fruit-stalk proceed- 

 ing from the same part of a plant 

 Sooty, (fulginosus) dark and dirty as if soojed, as are some 



of the Lichens. 



Spadiceous, sheathed; an aggregate flower, in which tin- 

 receptacle is enclosed within a spatha or sheath, that is 

 common to many florets. 

 Spadix, a flower-stalk that is protuded out of a spatha or 



sheath. 



Spadilated, battledore-shaped 

 Span, seven inches. 

 Sparsus, scattered. 



Spatha, a sheath ; a species of calix which bursts length- 

 ways and protudes a stalk, supporting one or more flowers 

 which commonly have no perianthium or flower-cup. 

 Spatulatum, roundish, or obovate. 

 Spear-sliaped, (lanceolatus.) 



Spear-egg-sliaped, (lanceolato-ovatum) applied to a leaf, 

 nifies that it is shaped like a spear towards the base, and 

 like an egg towards the extremity. 



Species, a set of plants which agree in the general structure 

 of their flowers and fruit, and therefore belong to the 

 same genus ; but differ in their stem, leaves, and other 

 particulars. See the Introduction to this work. 

 Specific character, one or more circumstances of a plant, suf- 

 ficient to distinguish it from any other of the same 

 genus. 



Spherical, (spherica) globular. 



Spike, a mode of flowering in which the flowers are ranged 

 alternately upon both sides of a single common flower- 

 stalk. 



Spicula. See Spikelet. 

 Spikelet, spicula, or little-spike; constituting part of a larger 



composition of florets. 



Spike stalk, (rachis) a long, rough, slender receptacle, upon 

 which the flowers composing a spike are placed. Take a 

 spike (or, as it is commonly called, an ear) of wheat; pull 

 off all the seeds and chaff; what remains is a spike- 

 stalk. 



Spine, a thorn ; a species of armature or offensive weapon, 

 protuded from the wood of the plant, and therefore of a 

 stronger and harder nature than prickles, which are only 

 detached portions of the bark. 

 Spindle-shaped, (fusiformis) a gradually tapering root. 

 Spinescent, becoming hard and thorny. 

 Spinose, thorny. 

 Spinous, beset with prickles. 

 Spiral, (spiralis) twisted like a corkscrew. 

 Spokes, (radii) the foot-stalks of flowers collected into um- 



bels and timbellules. 

 Spreading, (diffusus) not rising high, but spreading 1 wide 



upon the ground, as the stems of fumitory and pansie. 

 Spur, (calcar) shaped like the spur of a cock, as the nectaries 



of the larkspur. 

 Squamated, Squamose, scaly. 

 Squarrose, scurfy. 

 Stalk, (scapns) that species of trunk which elevates and 



supports the flowers, but not the leaves of a plant. 

 Stamens, (stamina) threads or chives ; the slender thread* 

 which support the antherse, and in most flowers are 

 placed round the seed-bud. 

 Staminiferousjlowers, or fiorets, such as contain one or more 



stamina, but no pistilla. and are necessarily barren. 

 Standard, (vexillum) the upright petal of a butterfly-shaped 

 blossom, very remarkable in a pea. 



